I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to simulated fish skin fishing lures, particularly simulated fish skin fishing lures having a single layer of plastic material. The lures may be used as a substitute for prepared whole natural bait fish or bait fish parts.
II. Prior Art
The prior art exhibits a large number of structures for fishing lures that are employed to simulate natural bait. The vast majority of these products are prepared to be rigid structures such as plugs, etc. U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,073 to Thomassin describes a flexible fishing lure. The essential feature of this product resides in the shape of the portion the inventor describes as the membrane portion and in the presence of the ridges and periphery of the membrance portion of this structure.
Other fishing lures that are more typical of the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,144 to Gurka which describes a two-piece oval-shaped solid lure with an embossed insert therein. U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,625 to Castner describes another solid lure made of a transparent material that has spaced polarized film embedded therein. U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,189 to Lilley, Jr., discloses a solid fishing lure that includes a photograph in the interior of the oval-shaped structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,888 to Barnes relates to a combined sinker and fishing lure. The device is an elongated molded body preferably 51/2 to 61/2 inches long weighing about 3/4 of a pound to one pound. The device has a reflecting tape attached thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 1,489,043 to Reinewald relates to an artificial fish bait consisting of a cylindrical bait body forward portion in the form of a declining front face. The device has a vertical slit that extends diagonally downward to facilitate attachment of the tail portion of the lure that is made up of soft rubber.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,120 to Layson discloses a structure that presents fish images in a manner that would result in the movement of these forms and would attract fish thereto.